Chapter 81 Someone Wants to Freeload

Sun Qian was used to Wan Qiqi bringing a bunch of stuff with her every day when she took the car, but he didn't expect there to be another person today.

He turned to look at Chen Yongnian and said, "Eldest son of the Chen family, are you going out to buy something?"

Chen Yongnian replied, "No, I'm accompanying my wife on business."

Someone on the oxcart, watching, couldn't help but ask, "What kind of business are you doing?"

Chen Yongliang immediately replied, "Honey pomelo syrup, Aunt Yang, would you like a bowl to try?" As he spoke, he opened the jar.

Aunt Yang leaned closer and immediately smelled the sweet aroma of honey, along with the refreshing scent of pomelo. She asked, "How is this made? Can bitter and astringent pomelos be used to make sweet soup?"

"Of course!" Chen Yongliang took the jar back, sealed it, and protected it like a precious treasure. "Aunt Yang, buy a cup and try it, it tastes great!"

Sun Qian turned around and said, "I've tried it, and it does taste quite good."

Aunt Yang hesitated for a moment, then said, "May I try it first?"

Chen Yongliang was in a dilemma because Aunt Yang was known in the village for being stingy, and might not pay him after drinking.

Wan Qiqi pretended not to know what Aunt Yang was up to and said, "Third brother, make yourself a cup."

"Sister-in-law..." Chen Yongliang looked reluctant, but still carefully scooped out a spoonful and made a cup with boiling water.

Aunt Yang was secretly pleased. Once she tasted it, she would know what it was made of and she could make it herself.

She watched as Chen Yongliang prepared the brew, and reached out to take it.

Halfway there, a hand snatched the cup away from her before she could reach it.

She looked up and saw Wan Qiqi holding a bamboo cup, smiling at her.

"Third brother, you've only been away from me for a day, how could you forget already?" With that, Wan Qiqi took out a cup several times smaller than the bamboo cup, poured the brewed honey pomelo tea into the small cup, and handed it over.

Chen Yongliang chuckled; so that's what his sister-in-law was planning!

Aunt Yang stood there, stunned.

What does Wan Qiqi mean by this? Does she look down on her? Or does she think she can't afford to drink from such a small cup?

"Aunt Yang, come on! We're all from the same village, free samples, no charge." Wan Qiqi smiled, looking genuinely sincere.

Aunt Yang's hand froze in mid-air, somewhat embarrassed. Upon hearing the word "free," she immediately snatched the drink from Wan Qiqi's hand and downed it in one gulp.

The taste was different from any other sweet soup she had ever had. It started with the sweetness of honey, which gradually turned into the bitterness of grapefruit. It was quite wonderful, and after finishing one cup, she wanted another.

She saw Wan Qiqi pour another cup and reached out to take it, only to find that Wan Qiqi wasn't giving it to her, but to the other people sitting in the oxcart. Her face immediately darkened.

"Aunt Yang, how does it taste? I didn't lie to you, did I?" Wan Qiqi said with a grin, as if she didn't see Aunt Yang's outstretched hand.

Aunt Yang withdrew her hand, displeased, and said, "There's so little, I can't even taste it!"

Someone immediately chimed in, "Aunt Yang, are you having trouble with your taste buds? I think it tastes great!"

"Yes, I think this sweet soup is delicious. How much is a cup? I'd like to bring a cup home for my child."

Wan Qiqi was very satisfied with the response and smiled, "Three coins."

"Three dollars? You'd only buy three dollars for a syrup with honey?"

"Won't you lose money like this?"

"Yeah, you added a lot of honey, didn't you?"

Wan Qiqi answered the villagers' questions one by one, and even revealed what she used to make them.

The villagers listened and felt that Wan Qiqi wasn't so bad after all. Plus, she had done a lot of work during the plague, which made them think even better!

After answering, she added, "Next, I might need a lot of pomelos. If you pick pomelos on the mountain, I can buy them. They'll cost three coins each, based on the price of syrup. You can also exchange pomelos for syrup."

Someone asked, "Really? Grapefruit is bitter and astringent, how can it be made into such a delicious syrup?"

"Of course it's true, why would I lie to you?" Wan Qiqi said sincerely, "I can also buy the grapefruit peels after you've finished eating them, one penny each."

When the oxcart arrived in Hefeng Town, Wan Qiqi had already become one of the villagers and had made deals with many of them for pomelos.

As Chen Yongliang set up his stall, he asked, "Sister-in-law, aren't you afraid that by revealing the recipe and ingredients, others will also make it and steal your business?"

Wan Qiqi laughed and said, "As long as someone sells it, someone will always investigate how it's made, and someone will always figure it out. Why keep it a secret?"

"But Aunt Yang, she..."

"Don't worry, she can't do it." Wan Qiqi was very confident that she had figured out Aunt Yang's stinginess. She couldn't possibly have actually tried it with honey over and over again, and she certainly couldn't have known that not only honey but also rock sugar had to be added.

After arranging the items, Chen Yongnian looked up at Chen Yongliang and said, "My wife means well. She wants everyone in the village to know how good these things are so that we can all make money together."

Wan Qiqi was surprised that Chen Yongnian understood her meaning better than Chen Yongliang.

She knew very well what the situation in the village was like; if they didn't come up with a solution, many people would probably freeze to death this winter.

Because of their feudal and outdated thinking, they find it difficult to break through and try new things, so she can only lead everyone to development in this way.

Moreover, if the business deal is really finalized, she will need a large quantity of pomelos.

Buying from the mall is the same as buying from the villagers, so why not give the money to the villagers and give them a chance to survive?

As soon as the stall was set up, people came over to inquire. Chen Yongliang immediately started explaining to them, while Chen Yongnian stood aside, learning how to brew the tea.

Wan Qiqi nodded in satisfaction upon seeing this and began to look around.

This is a market, a bustling area, with many people coming and going, but they are all small vendors. It would be very difficult to sell honey grapefruit jam in bulk.

She thought it over and over and decided that she should focus on the east side of the town, where there were more restaurants.

But if you put it in front of someone else's shop, let alone attract the shop owner's attention, you might be chased away as someone trying to steal your business.

If you run into an unreasonable person, your things might get smashed.

This is too risky!

After thinking for a while, Wan Qiqi finally came up with an idea. She whispered a few words in Chen Yongliang's ear, and then Chen Yongliang brewed two cups of honey grapefruit tea and left with the tasting cups.

Chen Yongnian didn't understand what his wife was planning, but he didn't ask and focused on his work.

Although he seemed a bit simple-minded, he was actually more astute than his two younger brothers when it came to accounting, which surprised Wan Qiqi.

Chen Yongnian explained, “When I used to work at the docks, my wages were always deducted. I couldn’t figure it out, so I always lost money. Then someone taught me…” He said this with some embarrassment, after all, it was an embarrassing story, but he didn’t mind telling his wife if she wanted to know.

"It's okay, it's good that you can calculate now!" Wan Qiqi said with a smile.

Although being able to do math is a good thing, she felt that she should bring Chen Yongnian with her less often in the future. What if he could figure it out perfectly? How could she take advantage of the situation and withdraw the copper coins from the mall?

Chen Yongnian was unaware of Wan Qiqi's thoughts and was still happy that his wife had praised him.

At this moment, someone holding a tasting cup looked around and said, "Isn't it supposed to be right here? I can't see it."

Wan Qiqi called out loudly, "Selling honey pomelo syrup! Delicious honey pomelo syrup!"